Insight
by thegodedgar
Summary: My family was involved with the war. My father betrayed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We still don't know which side the curse that took my sight came from. In short, I'm a very spoiled girl.
1. Introduction

****Author's Note: This is just what it's called, an introduction. At first this will seem as though it doesn't fit but it is relevant to future chapters. Mostly this just introduces the main character. I'm sorry I haven't finished my other stories, but I haven't felt inspired to. I will have some time to finish them, though, so expect new chapters soon. For now, this is what I have to offer you. I hope you like it. If you do, please let me know!****

*Tap…tap…tap*There's a group of girls to her left giggling about some boy. She didn't catch the name. *Tap…tap…tap*The path between students narrowed making it harder for her to navigate through. Tap…tap…thunk…Her cane was jerked to the side and she heard someone miss stepping. She turned in the direction they went and was about to apologize when their voice interrupted her.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you daft bint?" She could feel the heat of his anger coming off him.

"I'd love to." She smiled sweetly at him as she turned her blank eyes on him. "But as you can see that would be quite impossible. I'm sorry, we haven't met, your name is…" She reached her had out and he took it gingerly in his and the name was on the tip of her tongue and out of her mouth before he could speak. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Am I correct?"

"Yes. Not surprising, though, everyone knows who I am." She hadn't let go of his hand which allowed her to see his haughty smile in her mind. In spite of his arrogance, he was still a bit troubled by her uncanny ability to make eye contact with out having sight.

"Well, far more surprising, considering I've been home schooled for the past two years and believe this is the longest conversation I've had since arriving. That's all right, though, I'm sure that you see many faces and remember only the few who fit into your perfect pure blood life. So it's really no surprise to you that you don't recall seeing me." He huffed. "I digress, my name is Adelina Burke, also pure blood, it that makes a difference to you."

"Burke? My mother's side of the family had a Burke. Do you think perhaps…"

"Yes." She interrupted. "I am distantly related to those Burkes. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go to my dorm room. I'm afraid I may not be able to navigate through this mess on my own. Could you spare a moment?" Having been trained in strict manners, or perhaps because he feared the consequence of being rude to one of his own, He took the hand she was still holding him with and placed it on the crook of his arm. He carefully led her through the excited crowd in the main hallway to the stairs.

"Which house do you belong in?" he asked.

"Which house does the respectable pure blood belong in?" She chided.

"Of course." He slowly guided her down the stairs to the dungeons and into the Slytherin house. She pulled him to a stop and took his hands. As she was preparing to thank him, images flashed through her in a whirl wind. She was hardly able to catch most of the vision but she was disturbed none the less.

"You…I'm sorry. Thank-you for your time, but I'd appreciate if you not speak to me again. I have no desire to involve myself in the business your family is involved in. You'd do well to acquire some will power and make your own decisions before you find yourself in an undesirable place. Again, thank-you for your assistance. Please, forgive me." She quickly left him in his confusion before he could respond with the venom she knew he was capable of. She felt bad for the things she had said to him. He wouldn't understand. He was only thirteen and had yet to encounter the situations that would bring about life changing decisions. She was never as sure as she was at that moment that she should have just stayed home.


	2. The Line Of What Is Felicitous

****Author's Note: This kind of jumps right into the story. This whole blind character thing is a new challenge for me. It's not so bad, considering she has the second sight, but it's still a challenge. I have to figure out how to convey the fact that she is blind but still very well aware of her surroundings. I hope I did a good job!****

"Professor?" she tapped her cane on the floor as she sneaked into his office and to the entrance of his private quarters. "Professor Lupin?" The door creaked as she pushed it open to reveal a scantily clad, bruised and battered Remus. "Professor? He stirred a bit. She pulled the package she had brought for him out and waved it under his nose. His nose scrunched up as he sniffed at the unmistakable smell of fine chocolate. His eyes slowly opened. "Good afternoon, Professor."

"Merlin's Beard, child! What are you doing here?" He began to sit up and cringed.

"Oh! Don't do that! You'll hurt yourself!" She put her hand to his bare shoulder to lay him back down and had to keep herself from pulling away in fear as a scene from Lupin's past played through her mind. It was odd to her that she could see moments in his life that he didn't even remember.

"You shouldn't be here, Miss Burke. It's not proper." He pulled his blankets up around him as if she could see him.

"No one will know. I came to check on you. I was worried." She smiled at him. "I'm not going to believe you, so don't bother to tell me that you have the sniffles. I know what you are. I brought some chocolate!" He stared at her in awe as he reached out to retrieve the package she held out to him. When he opened the package to reveal a set of gourmet chocolates, all his worries were momentarily banished. "I'll make you some tea." He watched her curiously as she made her say through his kitchen as though she navigated it everyday.

"I'll never get use to that. It's not common to find a true seer, let alone one so talented." She smiled at his compliment.

"Being blind helps. It sharpens the senses. I know it cliché, the blind girl sees more than everyone else, but it's true in my case. I always had the gift. It wasn't until I lost my sight in an accident that I really learned to use it." She went to the sink with the teapot and filled it with water. She turned the crystal end of her cane and pulled. He'd seen her remove her wand from the cane and always noted how she was far less aware of her surroundings once it had been withdrawn. She voicelessly cast the spell to heat the water. It never surprised him that she could cast spells, wordlessly. It would take intimate knowledge of ones wand to use it as she did, effortlessly, everyday. She replaced her wand before reaching for the loose leaf tea she had already prepared for steeping.

"What happened? How were you blinded?" He asked between bites of decadent chocolate.

"That is a story." She smiled putting the teapot on a tray with the rest of the necessary items for a proper afternoon tea. "My family was involved with the war, as I'm sure you'd assume considering our blood lines. In the end, my father betrayed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He gave intel to The Order. Because of this he escaped punishment at the end of the war. Unfortunately, so did many other, some of whom did not deserve to. Unfortunately," she said as she poured out tea, "one of the undeserving took offence to my father's actions and decided to exact revenge on my family, in His name. My father managed to stop this man, but not before my sight was taken by a curse. We still don't know which side the curse that took my sight came from. In short, I am a very spoiled girl." She smiled at her own joke but Remus could see the pain of remembrance on her face.

"I'm sorry," he said solemnly.

"Oh, honestly, that would be like me apologizing for you becoming a lycanthrope. It's just ridiculous." She kept the forced smile. Remus put his hands up in surrender. "Now then, for a bath. I can tell that you are in dyer need of a nice hot bath. Girls know these things. You get ready while I run it, and then I'll help you in."

"I'm not sure…"

"Oh, pish, it's not like I can see anything, professor, and do you really think you can make it there on your own?" She got up and walked gracefully into his bathroom, not allowing him to respond. She added various relaxing herbs and oils to his bath to aid in the relaxation on his muscles. She listened to the rustle of the professor removing what little clothing he had on.

She wasn't sure if he was aware of her little fib or not. In her mind's eye she could see him quite well. Although quite thin, he was well muscled. Granted, with so little meat on him, he had no choice. She marveled at the scars that twisted over his body drawing a picture of his life. Every scar was a memory that he didn't have. She could see every moment that caused every scar, from the trivial paper cut to the more severe caused by losing control of the beast within him. His life was so unfortunate and lonely. She was sure he was an example of what was to come for her.

"Why is it you spend your time with and old professor, instead of your friends?" He asked as she helped him to his feet and they slowly began the agonizing walk to the bathtub. She was speechless for a moment. It was as if he'd been reading her mind, although she knew that was impossible.

"I don't really have any. People are turned off by me. I 'creep them out,' I think one of them said to me." She smiled weakly. "I'm unnerving. I know things. I see things that I'm not suppose to…literally."

"That's hard to believe. A pretty girl like you? Your gift should be admired, not feared."

"I'm glad you think so. You, of all people, should understand that people fear that which they do not understand." She supported most of his weight as he lifted his leg over the edge of the tub.

"You're very wise, for someone of your age." He marveled.

"I'm sure that you were at my age, too, given your condition. Trials and tribulations tend to age a person. It helps that I had extensive schooling. Before my affliction, my father had great plans for me." She grabbed the sponge and began to squeeze the hot water over his shoulders.

"Again, I think that perhaps we have crossed the line of what is felicitous. If you would so kindly let me bath in private…"

"Of course, Professor. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I've a potion to help with the aches. I'll leave it on your bedside table." She stood promptly, dropping the sponge into the tub next to him, and made her way to the door.

"Miss Burke?" She paused and looked back at him, eyes blank. "You can still do great things. You are an impressively talented girl, in all thins that you do. Don't let your affliction hinder you."

"I wish some one had said the same to you, Professor." She turned back to the door and left, closing it behind her.

"They did." He said quietly after her.


	3. A Strong Impression

"So, what's it like? I never asked. What do you see?" Two moons in a row she'd been there in time for afternoon tea. He didn't try to fight her on it the third time. She reminded him too much of someone who never backed down once he'd set his mind to it.

"It depends. When I'm navigating the hallways I see entirely different than when I'm getting a vision." She set the tray next to his bed and sat down.

"When you're walking around, then." He took his cup and nodded his gratitude.

"That's a bit complicated. When I tap the cane on the ground it sends out vibrations and sound waves that bounce off objects. My wand is an extension of myself, as it should be. The cane was made, by Olivander, to be an extension of my wand. The crystal handle of my wand magnifies the translation of the vibrations and sound waves sending them into me and giving me a sort of picture in my mind." She took a sip of her tea and when the cup left her lips they were curled into an impish smile. "Or so I'm told, anyway. It looks an awful lot like the negative to a picture, actually. Took a bit of getting use to."

"And your visions?" an avid learner, Remus sat on edge waiting for her reply.

"It depends. Visions that come from me alone, meaning no contact with the person the vision is about, are usually like scrambled movies. When I'm in contact with the subject, usually it depends on how the person remembers things. Everyone is different."

"Well, in the very least, Miss Burke, you are a very interesting young woman." Her had flew from her tea cup and connected with his shoulder. He cringed.

"Teach you. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Addie?" She laughed and pouted at him as he moaned in feigned pain. "And, I'm not a subject so stop studying me. Rem, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you find me too interesting."

"You really know how to make a situation uncomfortable." He smiled at her, despite the fact she couldn't see it. "What do you see when you touch me."

"It depends," she her smile faded. "Occasionally I see unpleasant things. It seems you either have an abundance of unpleasant things or you prefer to remember them." She placed her hand gently on his thigh when she felt the mood of the room change. "I'm sorry, would you like me to continue or shall I stop."

"No, please, I'd like to know." His voice was weak.

"Lately, with the break-ins on the school, I've seen a lot of Sirius Black. Not just while I'm with you, either. I've had visions in areas of the school that I assume he's been when he's here. He leaves a strong impression."

"He would." Remus said, matter-of-factly. "He's always had a strong presence. That's how he made everyone love him." His voice was laced with anger, fear and a very raw pain.

"His mind is clouded by madness. I'm not so sure that it is what you think it is, Remus. I've seen nothing of the intentions you think he has. I think…"

"Nonsense, Adelina. You must not pay any attention to such things. He's a very clever man. I'm sure that he's planting those things. That man is dangerous. No matter your visions, you must be very weary of him. If you find him, run. Don't stay to find out if you're right. You have to promise." The force in his voice was sudden and uncharacteristic of her soft spoken professor. She was so startled by it all she could do was nod in agreement. As soon as she did, the tension in the room began to dissipate.

She moved her hand from his thigh to take his hand. As soon as she did a picture of young Remus flowed like liquid into her mind. His face was full of pain as he was being told the fate of his friends and that the culprit was the person he most loved. She pulled away as a pain filled her chest and threatened to cause a torrent of tears.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh. Please forgive my outburst. You're just…"

"So much like him." She paused to read his reaction. He sighed.

"You're going to try and talk to him. He would. You need to promise you won't do it. Please. Don't do it. He's dangerous."

"I promise. I will run if I happen upon him, strait to you."

"Thank-you."

*****

Lie. Well, not quite a lie but definitely not wholly what he'd meant. He had wanted her to stay away from Sirius in all forms. She had only promised to run if she encountered him by accident. That night as she lay in her bed, she could feel him in the castle and couldn't stop herself from leaving the dungeon dormitories in nothing but her nightgown and a thick robe. The cold stone felt wonderful on her bare feet as she slowly made her way through the halls, carefully avoiding any who may have been on patrol.

He was trying to conceal himself. For some reason she couldn't latch on to his mind. After about twenty minutes of meandering through the halls she had given up on pinpointing him. Then, as she made her way around a corner she stopped. He was there, unaware of her presence. She couldn't tap her cane or he'd know where she was. Without doing so, she couldn't know exactly where he was. She put her hand on the wall and turned the corner silently. A warm body bumped her and his panic filled the immeadiate area as he spun around on her.

"Don't move, girl, or I'll kill you." He said in a rather unconvincing way.

"You're not a killer, Sirius, and even if you were, you can't do much to an armed girl. I must say, I'm well versed in my fair share of curses." She drew her wand from its sheath, carefully and trained it on the direction that his voice had come from. At only a moments notice her hand was suddenly wand free.

"And now I have a wand and you don't. Go to your dorm girl. This is none of your business."


	4. Guide

Adelina stood still trying desperately to reach her mind out into the darkness that surrounded her. With out her wand she was truly blind. She had never spent any time using her physical abilities to get around, only her magic.

"Did you hear me, girl, I said go to your dormitory." His voice held very little of the malice she was sure he had meant it to. She sighed, defeated, and put her hands out in front of her as she edged towards the wall…she hoped. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find a wall to guide myself with." There was a silence that told her he was giving her an odd look. "I'm blind, you bloody idiot. I can't see without my wand."

"Blind? Oh, well then I'd better walk you." She jumped when he took the crook of her arm and began to pull her down the hallway.

"As much as I trust you'll be aware enough to not run me into a wall, I still can't see where I'm walking and could trip on a stone. If you wouldn't mind slowing down a bit, or, even better, giving me my wand?" He slowed his pace, but only slightly.

"I won't be giving this to you, miss, I need it far too greatly." She yanked her arm from his grasp.

"Can you see without it? Yes? Well, I think, then, that we have established that I need it far more than you. Besides, it's temperamental. It gave some of the greatest wizards I know a bit of trouble. One of them still doesn't have an eyebrow."

"Do you even know why I'm here?" He sounded a bit irritated but she in no way felt threatened by him. He paced back and forth, obviously agitated by the delay.

"I know a lot."

"How much do you think you know?" She had planned on keeping her information to herself, but the condescending tone of his voice convinced her otherwise.

"I know enough to know that you are not here to harm Harry Potter and this castle is in serious need of rodent control." He stopped pacing. She managed to keep herself from starting when he placed his hand on her chin to turn her face upwards and a flow of visions danced through her head. The final vision shook her too the bone. Sirius was on his knees in front of the great dark beasts of Dementors, his life and essence being pulled from his body. She could almost feel that pain course through her. "Give me my wand."

"I've already explained to you that I will not…"

"Give me my wand or you will die tonight." He stood quiet and she outstretched her hand. "I've seen it, Sirius. If you do not listen to me, you will die this night and justice will never be served. Peter will go free."

"Alright." He placed the wand in her hand.

She replaced it in her cane and tapped the ground. Someone was approaching them from behind. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the nearest classroom. She closed and locked the door, unsheathed her wand, and threw up a silencing spell.

"We'll be here for a few minutes."


	5. Sleepwalking

****Author's Note: This ones a bit awkward, I think. A little fast paced but I couldn't see how else to get around it. let me know what you think.****

She pulled back the tapestry to uncover an inlet in the wall. He remembered that inlet. It was always very popular with hormone filled couples who wanted a quick snog or more between classes. He grinned, hoping she didn't notice. She motioned him inside.

"Really? Are we to both hide here? I seem to recall this being snug for two teenagers." She made and irritated face at him and gave him a shove.

"Get in. They'll be here soon." He followed her orders and she squeezed into the small alcove, pressing her body tightly to him. After placing a few charms she leaned her cane against the wall and relaxed against him.

"You came looking for me, didn't you?" He said into her hair. When he inhaled he noted the sweet smell of her shampoo and began to long for a bath.

"No, of course not. Why would I do that, you are a fugitive. That would be dangerous." She said it with such conviction he almost believed her.

"I would have done it." She snickered into his shirt. "What?"

"Nothing. Just thought of something my friend said to me. Before you ask, I'm not going to tell you what." She giggled again. "I'll just say that he's perceptive." She shifted a bit for comfort and noticed her fugitive friend was…effected by their proximity. "I thought you said you didn't have a wand." She quipped, rubbing herself on his erection. He took in a sharp breath.

"You must think you're very funny." He tried to shift away from her but the small space made it impossible. "I've been in prison for 12 years and am now pressed against a beautiful girl who smells _very_ nice. I'm only a man."

"Well, only a man, I would be happy to get you to a bath and increase your chances of becoming more familiar with my scent but right now we have to make a mad dash for the tunnel just beyond the next turn in the hall." She stood on her toes and pulled him down to place a soft but eager kiss on his cracked lips and then took her cane back up and threw the tapestry aside. He followed her closely.

"No, it's here, come back." He said as she walked confidently to where the tunnel was.

"It's not. It's right here." She said pressing her hands against the entrance.

"I think I know this castle better than you. I use to use these tunnels to…"

"Cause mischief and mayhem, I know, but the tunnel is here. I just don't know how to open it. Assuming you haven't lost too much of your memory…" She smiled playfully at him as he huffed and approached her. He had tried to open the tunnel and failed…because he'd been in the wrong place.

"Know-it-all." He said pressing the bricks gently to trigger the opening mechanism.

"I can see it. That's not being a know-it-all." She said following him into the tunnel. "It's not my fault that your mind isn't what it use to be. If I were you, I'd see someone about tha…" She very suddenly found herself pressed against the wall. His breath tickled her neck as he breathed her in. She made a mental note to use the wash she had used more often. His dry lips touched the soft skin of her neck. Her stomach filled with fire as he nipped and kissed her.

"How old are you?" He asked, his voice husky. She ignored his question and took his lips with hers. He gave in for a moment and then pushed her away. "How old are you?" She took her hands off his shoulders and successfully sought out the erection that was pressing into her belly. He didn't ask her again.

He lifted her up off the ground and pressed her into the wall with his hips. She moaned as he pulled aside her thin knickers and pressed himself inside her. She forgave his lack of fore play. He'd been in prison for over a decade and they didn't really have time for much more than he wanted to give. She wrapped her legs around him tightly and closed her eyes letting her mind run free. She could see him in her mind. He wasn't thinking of her but she couldn't see who he was with. She tried desperately to clear up the fuzzy vision that their coupling was dragging up in him. He moaned into her ear as he nibbled on her earlobe. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard, thrusting her tongue into his mouth for a thorough exploration. His thrusts grew erratic and then he stilled within her.

"Remus?" She said when her feet had been replaced on the ground. He gave her an odd look. "You were having sex with a teenager in a dark tunnel and you were having visions of Remus?" She smiled a little, trying not to laugh.

"Seers." He scoffed.

"Go. Now!" She said suddenly. "Someone is coming. I'll distract them, just run."

"Thank-you." She nodded as she made her way out of the tunnel, taking care to close it before she was seen. She then began to walk down the hallway at a rather lethargic pace.

"Miss Burke? What exactly are you doing?" She ignored the voice of her potions master and kept walking slowly past him. He grabber her arm and shook her a bit. "Miss Burke!" She shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

"Professor? What are you doing in the girls dormitories?" She tapped her cane on the ground, as though she was trying to get a baring on where she was. "Goodness me! Where am I?"

"I'm afraid you might have been sleepwalking, Miss Burke. Please allow me to escort you back to your dorm. It's very dangerous to be wondering by yourself."

"Yes, please, sir. I'm very sorry to have troubled you."

"Not at all. Just be sure to talk to Madame Pomfrey in the morning. This is not the time to be acquiring new sleeping habits." He took her arm and began to lead her through the winding hallway. When she was finally safe in her bed she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe that he had bought her act. She was infinitely glad that he had.


	6. Inhumanly Human

****Author's Note: I know that there isn't much in the way of Draco yet. This is all some set up. I really want you to know Adelina before I get into the relationship with Draco. I promise he'll be in the next chapter. Please read and review! Show me the love!****

"It's hard when you're different. People don't hesitate to let you know that you're a freak, inhuman in some way. You should see the way people look at me. It's like it's my fault. They look at me as if I chose to be like this and, even though I can't turn it off, I'm still blamed for it. The world is so unyielding. It only accepts change if somebody drives it down it's throat and even then…" She paused and shifted in her chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his stare. "Even then, even if it's the right change, they fight it, kicking and screaming all the way down." She shifted again. "Remus, why are you staring at me?"

"I…" he searched for an answer, obviously surprised that she had known his gaze had been fixed on her as she spoke. "I'm just astounded, I suppose. A fifteen year old girl just described the way I have felt my whole life. I'm heartbroken that anyone, especially a beautiful, talented girl such as yourself, could feel the same stigma and separation from the world as I do." He placed his hand on hers and she forced herself not to flinch as she saw every moment of his pain all at once. "Surely it can't be THAT bad for you."

"Every time I touch a person I see things that they don't want me to. I don't try to, it just happens. I've become very good at keeping EVERYONE'S secrets. Some of the things I know, perhaps I should tell people, but I shouldn't know them in the first place. It's not fair of me. I know things about some people that they don't even know about themselves. Buried memories, the torrid secrets of their lovers, things they never knew they experienced and things they will experience all swim around in my head. There is a reason that any witches with these gifts that make it to any substantial age are a bit nutty." She smiled weakly at him as the visions she had of him danced around in her mind like a movie. Everything from the memories of the beast to his most carnal human moments had graced her third sight and he probably didn't have a clue.

"I'm sorry. I wish that I could help you. Have you spoken to Professor Trelawney?" She gently took her hand away from him.

"Her visions are different. She has to enter a sort of trance in order to receive her visions and rarely, if ever, remembers them. I think that I remember them better than her. Besides, her Divination abilities seem to be strictly of the precognitive variety. I'm plagued with clairvoyance, precognition, retrocognition, psychometry, clairsentience and a variety of others that I'm not even sure have names. She can't even control her own, singular ability, how would she tell me how to control the multitude that are mine." Tears were stinging her eyes, threatening to spill over at a moments notice. "And even if I could control it, it would change the fact that I can delve into the most personal parts of a persons mind. It wouldn't change that people are freaked out about blind people as it is and, out of habit, I look at them with these empty eyes making them even more uncomfortable. I hate these eyes. They aren't mine. I use to have such beautiful eyes."

"Oh, Addie, you still have beautiful eyes." He looked into them. They weren't as empty as she thought. He could see her emotions swimming in the large pools of a ridiculous color of blue that didn't seem at all natural. Perhaps natural for the sky on days when there is a thin haze of clouds making it so pale it's almost white, but not at all for eyes. Offsetting the pale color was a frame of thick black eyelashes that stretched along the almond shape of her soft eyelids. With a good look, her eyes were far from creepy. They were intoxicating. He tore his gaze from her eyes when she moved. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture and handed it to him.

"I don't know why I keep it with me. I can't even see it." There was a picture of a smaller version of the girl in front of him. She couldn't have been more than ten or eleven. She was standing next to an older boy, looking up at him in an adoring fashion. Her eyes were a much deeper blue, more akin to the color of the ocean on a rainy day. "He was my betrothed. I was promised to him when I was born."

"Was?" Remus asked carefully, knowing that he was treading on delicate ground.

"After the…the incident…his parents called it off. They said that their son had to marry a healthy pureblooded woman not one who is damaged. Didn't want to chance that the affliction could be passed on."

"That's ignorant."

"Exactly what I said. It didn't help my prospects." She laughed quietly through her nose. "He told me that was one of the things that was exciting about me. I spoke the words that came to mind. He was disappointed but far more interested in his 'duty' than me."

"Ah, pureblood families. Charming as they are, they are almost never very bright." She laughed with him, her tears tainting the sound.

"Remus, don't take this wrong. It is nothing more than what it is." He leaned forward, awaiting her confession. "I love you." He sat back and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly. "I'm sorry, never mind. I shouldn't have…"

"No, Addie, I know what you mean. I love you, too."


End file.
